Haunt the Zoo

This last Tuesday we got to dress Jada up and take her out to the zoo for their Halloween trick-or-treating. It was so much fun to see all the kiddos in their different costumes. And Jada came away with some pretty good treats (which Mom & Dad have been enjoying in her honor... one of the tough jobs of being a parent....) :-)

Trip to the Zoo

Here are some pictures of one of our past trips to the zoo with Jada. We had a lot of fun, although Jada's favorite animals out of the whole zoo were the squirrels (and the butterflies!).

Look at that, Mom!

Hey there!

Can you believe they just stuck me up in this tree?

This is fun!

Lounging around...

oh my!

And of course, Jada's favorite....

Our baby girl is ONE!!!

It has been a crazy 2 weeks... Jada turned a year old and we, of course, had a big birthday party that many of her little friends were able to attend, then we spent the next week trying to find a place to put all her new toys and gifts! This last week, John has been sick and I've spent much of my free time going through the hundreds of pictures (and I'm not exaggerating) from her birthday in order to post some of the cutest. You know, it's a good thing digital cameras came out when they did, or we would be broke spending all our money on film and processing!!! :-)

Jada took a few steps right before her birthday and she's been getting better at walking ever since. She still only goes about 3 or 4 feet before she gives up or finds something to hold onto - but she's getting more sure of herself every day. She'll walk everywhere if you hold her hand (or at least until she's sees something interesting on the ground). I'm waiting for the day when she suddenly shrugs off my hand and simply runs away... in many ways she's VERY independent! She had her 12 month doctor's appointment last week and weighed a whopping 20 pounds... hard to believe she was only 7.5 pounds when she was born... although she's stayed pretty close to 50th percentile as she's grown.

Well here are some of our favorite pictures from her 1st birthday. I tried to narrow it down as much as possible, but there were too many good ones... so I apologize for burdening you with all these adorable pics!

I'm ONE!!!

Miss Cheese

Stealing food... still need to teach her manners!

The AWESOME cakes that Jada's Aunt Crystal made just for her!

Now time for the cake... an interesting experience...

Jada got some wax on her finger when we were removing the candle...
And that was about it for the cake...
But give her cheese and she's happy!!!
Mmmmmm!!! (that was about all the cake she ate!)

We tried to get a group shot of all the kids. John got some really cute pictures, but I don't think we got one that had every single kid in the picture... talk about crazy! :-) Splashing in the water... much to the parents' delight!
Happy Birthday Jada!

First steps! (well, kinda)

Jada took 3 whole steps this morning! Her first real steps all by herself. She's been cruising along with her walker toys for quite a while now, as well as standing alone for a few seconds by herself (if she doesn't realize it). Yesterday she took 1 step just to grab ahold of something. And then this morning she just stood up for almost 10 seconds, took 3 steps to push the door closed, and then stood there for several more seconds while Mommy yelled for Daddy to come see. Of course, by that time she had plopped on her bottom and wouldn't do it again. But it was still exciting! Hopefully next time we'll have the video camera ready! :-)